Snow compressor



Nov. ,1] 17 1925 1,561,472 B. A. LINDERMAN SNOW COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 22, 1921 M 7 Shee Nov. 17, 1925- 1,561,472 B. A. LINDERMAN SNOW COMPRESS 0R Filed Jan. 22, 1921 7 Sheets Sh 2 Nov. 17, 1925.

B. A. LINDERMAN SNOW COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 22, 1921 Nov. 17, 1925. 1 1,561,472

. B. A. LINDERMAN SNOW COMPRESS 0R Nov. 17 1925- B. A. LINDERMAN SNOW COMPRESS 0R Filed Jan. 22, 1921 7 sheet's shet 5 Nov. 17, 1925.

B. LINDERMAN SNOW COMPRESS OR Filed Jan. 22, 1921 '7 Sheet-Shfi 6 Nov. 17, 1925- B. A. LINDERMAN SNOW COMPRESS 0R Filed Jan. 22, 1921 7 sheets-sheet Patented Nov. 17, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERT A. LINDERMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AUSTIN MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

SNOW COMPRESSOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Barn A. LINDERMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Snow Compressors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates in general to snow handling machinery and has for its object broadly the provision of an apparatus for materially reducing the amount of manual labor required in cleaning streets and sidewalks."

A principal object of the invention is the provision of an apparatus which in a highly efiicient manner will eliminate the necessity for shoveling the snow into wagons where it is necessary to haul away the snow and bring the snow to condition to increase the carrying capacity of wagons, trucks or other hauling means, or to arrange the snow in condition to occupy a minimum space where the snow is not to be hauled away. My invention contemplates in this connection the gathering up of the snow and compacting it as it is gathered up into blocks of desired magnitude and weight, which may be piled neatly and in small space at the side of the street or sidewalk, or which may be loaded neatly into a wagon and hauled away. Experience has demonstrated that snow is capable of compression to approximately a fifth or sixth of its bulk and it will be readily manifest that when compacted considerable saving in space, teaming, etc. will be thereby effected. Heretofore it has been usually the custom in cleaning the streets to deal with a shovelful as a unit. That is to say, the street cleaners shovel the snow di rectly from the streets into wagons or into piles and from the piles into wagons in which the snow is to be hauled away. My invention contemplates the handling of much larger units by arranging the snow both into compacted form and in blocks in size materially larger than the ordinary shovelful.

A principal object of my invention is the provision of an organized apparatus for carrying out this procedure and which Will be power actuated and of high capacity.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, ferred embodiment thereof.

On the drawing,

Figure l is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying my present invention;

Figure 2 is a front view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a rear view, parts being broken away and shown in section to disclose certain features of construction;

Fig. 4 is a front to back sectional view taken through the same;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view through the variable speed transmission;

Fig. (3 is a section taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail showing the discharge mechanism;

Fig. 8 is a section taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 9 is a section taken substantially on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown on the drawing an apparatus in which it is embodied. This apparatus is of the belt tractor type and includes side walls 11 reinforced at the top by side angles 12 and connected at the back by a channel 13 and at the front by a crossmember 14 and at intermediate points by other parts of the apparatus, as will be presently described. An internal combustion engine 15 is mounted at the front and may have any usual or preferred construction, being merely schematically shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The vehicle is mounted upon two multipedal or belt tractor devices comprising a body frame 16 of channel iron construction which supports the apparatus through brackets 17 and which rests upon the continuous traction devices 18 throu h rollers 19. Each traction device is provided with two sprockets 21 and 22, the sprocket 22 being the driving sprocket, and these sprockets are mounted upon shafts 23 which extend through the side walls and across the apparatus having bearing at 24.- upon the channel 16. Each sprocket 22 is provided with a smaller drive sprocket 25 over which takes a sprocket chain 26 engaging a sprocket wheel 27 upon a cross shaft 28, which, as will be presently described, receives power from the engine.

Within a housing 29 is mounted a variable speedcontrol, shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In-

discloses a preside this housing is provided a supplemental housing 31. Referring to Fig. reference character 32 indicates the fly wheel of the en e and this fly wheel is provided with a riving member 33 of a clutch, the driven members 34 and 35 of which are upon a shaft 36 having ball bearing 37 in a forward web 38 in the housing 31 and bearing at 39 in the fly wheel hub. The clutch composed of the members 33, 34 and 35 may be of any usual or preferred type and is controlled by a clutch collar 41 in the usual fashion from an arm 42 outside the casing, which arm may also be connected in the usual fashion with a suitable control from the drivers seat 43 The shaft 36 carries a gear 44 meshing continuously with a gear 45 upon a short shaft 46 having ball bearing at 47 and 48 in the casing 31 and carrying a gear 49 meshin with a gear 51 upon a drive shaft 52,

said drive shaft having hearing at 53 and 54-in the housing 31.- This shaft carries three additional gears 55, 56 and 57. A

' relation and a reverse relation.

' shaft 58' is mounted in ball bearings 59 in the housing 31 and in the end of the shaft 46.and this shaft 58 carries gears for completing the variable speed relations when brou ht into proper relation with gears upon the s aft 52;

There are two gears upon the shaft 58, indicated by reference characters 62 and 63.

. The gear 62 is adapted to control two high speed relations and the gear 63 a low speed The gear 63 is adapted to be brought into mesh with an idle gear 64upona stub shaft 65, this gear 64 being continually in mesh with gear 57 which results in driving the traction devices in a backward direction as will be readily understood from the description of the traction drive to be presently set forth.

Moved inthe other direction the gear 63 engages the gear 56 and the apparatus is driven at its lowest speed. The second or intermediate drive speed is attained by moving the gear 62 into mesh with gear and the high-speed by :moving the. gear 62 in the opposite direction so that lugs 66 on the side of the gear 62 engage lugs 67 upon the side of the gear 49, this being a direct drive from the shaft 46. These movements are attained by swinging the hand lever 68 to one side or the other engaging an arm 69 with a shift collar 71 or an arm 72 with a shift collar 73. the movement being like that of the usual automobile shift lever.

The driven shaft 58' carries at its end a bevel pinion 74 meshing with a bevel gear rection and having bearingsat 81 and 82 in the housing 31. The clutch member 76 has ball bearing also at 83 and 84 in different partitions in the housing. The clutch memer 76 provides two internal chambers 85 and 86 in which are mounted a number of disks 87 held upon bolts 88 extending through the chamber and constituting the drlving part of the clutch.

Each shaft 78 and 79 is provided with a sleeve 89 upon which are clutch elements 91. Springs 92 tend to press the clutch parts into engagement as will be readily seen on viewing Fig. 6. The clutches may be released by two levers 93 and 94 pivoted at 95 in the housing and having an end 96 bearmg against a brake member 97. The levers 93 and 94 have loose engagement upon a rack member 98 provided with nuts or beads 99,

adapted to engage the lever end. The rack 98 engages a pinion, the hub of which is indicated at 101, upon a shaft 102 which carries a gear 103 at its top. This gear meshes with an intermediate idle gear 104 in turn meshing with a gear 105 upon a steering post 106 having a steering wheel 107 at its top. WVhen the parts are arranged as shown in Fig. 6 both clutches are in driving engagement and both shafts 78 and '79 rotate under power. At their outer ends these shafts carry pinion 108 in mesh with an internal gear 109 upon the end of .a shaft 111 upon the outer end of which is mounted the sprocket wheel 27.. When the steering wheel 107 is rotated to the left, viewing Fig. 6, therack'or rod 98 will be moved in the same direction moving the lever 93 to press the brake member 97 to the right. This will disconnect the clutch of shaft 87 and throw its brake member 97 into braking engagement with the housing 31 at 112 resulting in stopping rotation of the traction device at thisside and a corresponding turnin" movement of the apparatus upon rotation of the wheel in the opposite direction and the opposite result occurs if the wheel 107 be moved in the opposite direction.

The vehicle is provided at the front with a scoop 121 pivoted upon a cross-shaft 122 "in the frame and having a bottom wall 123 with a rounded boss or support 124 at the end. At each side the scoop flares outwardly and a cable 125 is fixed at its lower end 126 on the scoop end and at the other upon a drum 127 upon across-shaft 128.

which cross-shaft carries a gear 129 in mesh with a worm 131 upon a shaft 132 having a hand wheel 133 at the drivers seat, the purpose of this last described apparatus being to permit lifting of the scoop about its pivot when not in service. Rear'wardly of the scoop is an inclined chute bottom 134 connecting the side walls of the frame and with them forming a chute or conduit up which the snow may pass as it is scooped up by the scoop 121. Means are provided for positively moving the snow up the chute and this means in the present instance comprises a conveyer constructed as follows. Each conveyer unit consists of a blade 136 and an arm 135 extending out at each end thereof, the arms being connected by pivot pins 137 extending clear across the chute. Fixed shafts 138 and 139 are arranged at each end of the travel of the conveyer and these shafts carry disks 141 in which are formed recesses 142 to receive the pivot pins. The upper shaft 139 is the driven shaft and the mechanism for driving this will be later described.

The snow moves up the chute and into a storage space at the rear where it is compressed into compacted blocks. Comparing Figs. 3 and 4 it will be noted that at the upper end of the chute is provided a plurality of snow receiving compartments indicated at A in Fig. 3. Each of these compartments is of rectangular form and their side and front Walls are rigid and fixed in position, the side walls being indicated by reference characters 143 and 144. The two compartments are duplicates of each other and a description of one will be suflicient for both. The bottom wall 145 is fixed to arms 146 upon a cross-shaft 147 pivoted in brackets 148 upon the bottom of the back Wall. The front wall 150 of the compartment is pivoted upon the shaft 149 mounted above the upper edge of this wall. At the lower end of this front wall is provided a protruding boss 151 in which'is pivoted at 152 a lock member 153, this look member having at its forward edge a cam portion 154 adapted to engage under the forward edge of the bottom wall when the same is elevated into horizontal position. The lock member or lever 153 is provided at its upper end with a screw stud 153 on which is mounted an adjustable nut or collar 155 engaged by a spring 156 pressing against the front wall and serving to hold the lock in locking position. Two arms 157 are fixed upon the shaft 147 and their outer ends are connected by links 158with a pivot pin 159 upon or near the upper edge of the front wall 150. Veights 161 embrace a crosspivot pin 162 between the arms 157 and links 158. the function of these Weights being to return the parts to locked position after the two walls 150 and 145 have been moved to discharge the accumulated snow, the discharge position being shown in Fig. 7 in dotted lines. As thesnow is delivered into the compartments it is compressed into compact form by a mechanism to be now described.

A compressor member is provided for each snow receiving compartment and this compressor member in the present instance is in the form of an arm 163 loose upon a shaft 164 and having a compressor head or spanker 165, a spring 166 engaging the arm at one end and an angle frame work 167 at the other normally holds the arm in elevated pos1tion. It is adapted to move down periodically or intermittently toward the receptacle and if desired into it, this movement being accomplished by a cam 168 upon a shaft 169 above the receptacle and en gaging a roller 171 on the head 165 of the arm. The shaft 169 is rotated continuously and has bearings at 172 and 17 3 in a housing 174. Upon the shaft gear 17 5 meshing with a worm 176 upon a shaft 177, which shaft is bolted to and forms a continuation of a shaft 178 extending into a compartment 179 of the variable speed transmission housing 31. This shaft is adapted for a clutch connection at 181 with a shaft 182. this clutch connection not needing particular description since it is a substantial duplicate of the parts 33, 34 and 35. The shaft 182 extends through the main compartment of the housing 31 and carries at its front end a gear 183 continually in mesh with gear 45 so that the shaft 182 is continuously driven and when the clutch 181 is engaged the compressor arms will be moved vertically up and down upon the snow as it is delivered into the snow receiving receptacles or compartments. The compressor members are, of course, duplicated for each compartment and the cams 168 are preferably set upon the shaft so that the action of the gompression members is not simultaneous. That is to say where only two such compartments are provided one compressor member will act upon its operadtl'ive stroke while the other is returning 1 e.

The snow is delivered, of course, continuously into the receptacles, or substantially continuously, and as soon as the amount received comes within the movement of the compressor compression begins and this con tinues until blocks of desired compactness are attained. Resistance to the action of the compressor member constantly increases until finally it is sufficient to push the wall 145 down off the cam lock resulting in the moving or swinging out of the front receptacle wall 150 and the discharge of the block of snow which slides down upon the ground behind the apparatus as it advances forward. Thereafter gravity returns the parts to normal locked position through the weights 161.

The conveyer for moving the snow up the chute, which has already been described, is operated from the shaft 169. Referring to Fig. 1, it will be noted that this shaft 169 carries a sprocket wheel 191 over which takes a sprocket chain 192 engaging with a sprocket 193 upon a stub shaft 194 mounted in a bearing 195 on the angle framework 167. This stub shaft carries a second sprocket 196 over which takes a sprocket is mounted a worm chain .197 in mesh with the sprocket wheel 198 upon shaft 139.

Those compressors may be made to compress the snow in varying amount depending upon theadjustment of the sprmg pressure of the lock and depending also upon the temperature and condition of the snow. In order to reduce this last feature to a minimum I provide means for raising the temperature of the snow at the receptacles or compartments and to this end arrange the exhaust pipe 201 to blow the warm air on to the snow as it is delivered into a receptacle, although of course variety of arrange'ment is possible in this connection.

It will of course be manifest that the in vention and the apparatus, itself, described and shown on the drawing as an embodiment thereof has other uses and it is my d": sire to protect the invention in said uses as well as in the mere handling of snow. It

will also be apparentthat among the changes possible within the scope of the invention is the substitution of steam power for internal combustion, in which event the exhaust from the steam might, if desired, be used to melt the snow.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment'thereof.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried thereby, a vertically movable pressure member adapted to enter into said receptacle, and means arranging snow between the bottom of said receptacle andsaid vertically moving member to permit it to be compacted into block formation.

An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried thereby, an intermittently acting pressure member associated with said receptacle, and means delivering snow to said receptacle between the actions of said pressure member.

3'. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried there-* by, an oscillating pressure arm associated therewith, andmeans delivering snow to said receptacle -between the working oscillating strokes of said pressure arm.

4:. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried thereby, a vertically movable pressure arm, and a cam acting on said pressure arm in its operative stroke.

5. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried thereby and having confining walls adapted to be opened for discharge, means delivering.

snow into said receptacle, a device for compressing the snow in said receptacle, and a lock for said confining walls releasable under the pressure of said compression means, when the snow charge in said receptacle is in predetermined condition to permit dis charge.

6. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried thereby and having confining walls adapted to be opened for discharge, means delivering snow into said receptacle, a device for compressing the snow in said receptacle, and a lock for said confining walls releasable under the pressure of said compression means when a snow charge in said receptacle has been compressed into a block of desired compactness.

7. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried thereby for receiving the snow and having a bottom adapted to be moved to open position to permit a discharge, a lock normally holding said bottom closed, a member adapted to compress the snow in said receptacle, a lock automatically opened by the pressure of saidcompression member to permit dischargefsaid bottom moving automatically back into engagement with said look after discharge.

8. An apparatus for hjandling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried thereby for receivinglthe snow and having a bottom adapted to be moved to open position to permit discharge, a lock normally holdin said bottom closed, a member automati ceive snow and having a movable side, a

member adapted to compress the snow received in said receptacle, and means holding said side in closed position and permitting movement thereof to discharge position under the pressure of said compression member.

'10. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried thereby adapted to receive snow and having a plurality of walls movable to discharging position, means normally retaining said walls in closed position, a compression member adapted to compress the snow received in said receptacle and to release said retain ing means when snow within the receptacle has been compressed to desired compactness.

11. An apparatus for handling snow, com- I prisinga vehicle, a receptacle carried thei-e position, means normally retaining said walls in closed position, a compression member adapted to compress the snow received in said receptacle and to release said retaining means when snow within the receptacle has been compressed to desired compactness by pressure exerted upon the snow.

12. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle carried there by adapted to receive snow and having a plurality of walls movable to discharging position, means normally retaining said walls in closed position, a compression member adapted to compress-the snow received in said receptacle and to release said retaining means when snow within the receptacle has been compressed to desired compactness, and gravity means for rearranging said parts in normal positions after discharge.

13. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle provided with means for picking up snow and providing separate storage compartments for the snow thus picked up, and a pair of intermittently acting compression members acting upon the snow in storage to compact the same.

14. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle provided with means for picking up snow and providing storage for the snow thus picked up, and a pair of al ternately-operable compression members acting upon the snow in storage to compact the same.

15. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a artitioned storagespace providing a plura ity of snow receiving compartments, and an intermittently acting compression member associated with each compartment for compressing the snow.

16. An apparatus for handling snow, com prising a vehicle, a partitioned storage space providing a plurality of snow receiving compartments, and a compression member associated with each compartment for compressing the snow, said compression members acting progressively in said compartments, first in one and then in another.

17. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle having a partltioned storage space providing a plurality of com partments into which snow may be received, a pressure member associated with each compartment, and a common actuating mechanism for said compression members preventing simultaneous action thereof.

18. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a'vehicle, a receptacle into which the snow is delivered, a spanker for compacting the snow, and means for raising the temperature of the snow.

19. An apparatus for handling snow, comprising a vehicle, a receptacle into which the snow is delivered, a spanker for compacting the snow, and means for maintaining the temperature of the snow within desired limits.

BERT A. LINDERMAN. 

